Sunshine
by Kaminiko
Summary: Naruto asks about sunshine. Short story, with very light shounen-ai. (Sasu+Naru, Saku)


Sunshine

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'You fall over me, you crawl over me like sunshine' 

_            - Wash (Lifehouse)_

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            They lay on the grass.

            The sun was burning brightly that day, the air humid, smelling sweetly of summer blossoms.  It was midday and Kakashi had long since skipped away to do whatever he did when he went off alone.  His three students, Sakura closest to Sasuke and Naruto closest to Sakura, lay in the sun, its warmth beating down on their upturned faces.

            It was a beautiful day.

            Naruto was muttering something about the best ramen, while Sakura tried her best to gain Sasuke's attention, every once in a while stopping to bicker with Naruto.  Sasuke lay there, his eyes closed, and listened to them.  He was smiling on the inside, though it never reached his face.

            "Ne–, " Naruto spoke up after describing the great miso he'd had at Ichiraku, care of Iruka, "Don't you guys ever wish you could capture the sunshine?"

            Sakura turned from her gazing at Sasuke to glare at the other young man beside her.

            "What are you talking about," she began, annoyance in her voice, "that's the stupidest thing I've ever heard."

            Naruto turned to look at her, his familiar smile in place.

            "Think about it, if we all had our own little piece of sunshine, then we'd never have to go without warmth.  And when its dark, we'd never have to stay in the shadows," he paused, "but its not like I'm afraid of the dark or anything dumb like that."  Sakura just thought he was crazy.

            Who would want something as stupid as sunshine?  If you were cold you could wear more clothes, or light a fire.  If it was dark, you could carry a lantern or light a candle.

            Still Naruto continued, explaining that sunshine was better than fires or clothes, or candles or lanterns, because you never had to get it mended or work to keep it going.  Sunshine was constant and consistent; it would stay with you forever… as long as you could catch it.

            They bickered onwards as Sasuke lay there, contented in not joining their conversations.

            He listened as they talked of many nothings, long into the day, into the evening, until nearly it was night.  Sakura eventually broke their ramblings with explanations that she was expected soon at home.  She said her goodbyes to Sasuke, who did not open his eyes, but did lift a hand in acknowledgement, and she walked away from them both.

            Naruto had grown quiet, sighing once, softly.

            After a few moments, Sasuke opened his eyes to find Naruto looking up at the sky, at the stars that were slowly beginning to appear.

            "It's times like this where I want a little sunshine," he said, somehow aware that Sasuke was looking, listening.

            "Ah," said Sasuke after a moment, "I already have some sunshine, idiot."  And Naruto turned to look at him, the curiosity in his gaze overcoming his affront at the name.

            "Oh?"  He questioned softly, his usual energy dulled by the calm of the evening.  Sasuke smirked, reaching over to pluck a hair from Naruto's head.

            "Hey!  That hurt!"

            And Sasuke felt his smirk turning into a grin, but he quelled it before it showed fully on his face.  He put the bleached yellow hair into his pocket as he stood up, and began to walk away.

            "Oi!  Sasuke!"  Naruto yelled at Sasuke's retreating form, "Whad'ya do that for?"

            This time Sasuke couldn't hold back the smile that spread across his face.  It was transforming.  "I wanted some sunshine," he explained, and soon was gone.

            Naruto sat in the grass still looking at the spot where Sasuke had been.  Eventually he lay back down and returned his gaze to the stars.

            "So did I," he whispered to himself, rubbing a spot on his head.

            Naruto smiled.

            It had been an absolutely beautiful day.

--AN:  Wow, another one.  Geez, I'm not really good at the regular romance stuff.  I have so much trouble with things like 'points' and 'plots'.  I think I'll just stick to these one-shots.  They're very easy to put down.  Heh…  I've got an idea for a short Goldilocks parody…  I think I'll get that down.  By the way, having nothing to do with Goldilocks, is anyone interested in an Ino+Saku?  Very light mind you, much like this Sasu+Naru.

Kaminiko (http://www14.brinkster.com/kaminiko)


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